343 Talks ‘Warzone’ Gameplay Development In Halo 5: Guardians

343 Industries has discussed in more detail on the development for Halo 5: Guardians’ new multiplayer mode called ‘Warzone’.

343 talked more about ‘Warzone’ in a new Halo Waypoint blog post. One of the ways you can win in this new mode is by destroying the Power Core. Destroying this results in an instant victory.

The Power Core mechanic in Halo 5: Guardians went through a lot of phases during development. A lot of testing was done to make ‘Warzone’ feel more balanced and fair to lots of players.

They wanted to make the mode feel competitive. Lawrence Metten, Sr. Multiplayer Designer on the game explained some multiplayer modes can be boring because everyone is waiting for the game to end if a match is too one sided. The Power Core gimmick was added so that losing teams still have a chance to win.

The inspiration for Warzone was the “Alamo”. Adrian Bedoya, Multiplayer Level Designer explained that they wanted to “find the excitement, tension and drama” in the last few minutes of a Warzone match.

Bedoya said they had a more complex system for you to destroy the Power Cores in Halo 5: Guardians. They decided to scrap this so they simplified it. It would have been too complicated for players to destroy Power Cores in three specific ways.

They also said early on, destroying the Power Cores was the only way to win during Warzone matches. However, 343 they said that would have been boring so killing enemies and adding to your score is another way you can win and increase your REQ level.

More from the Warzone mode in Halo 5: Guardians will be shown at Gamescom 2015 next week. Attendees will also get a chance to play the game too.